Life in Tragedy and Love
by AmandaMarieJohnson333
Summary: AU - After the death of her mother, 17-year old Buffy Summers moves to England to live with her mother's friend, Giles and his son William aka Spike. Lots of Spuffyness! Please r/r!
1. A New Home

Buffy Summers was sitting quietly on the bus. The woman who had seated herself next to the blonde had been talking her ear off the whole time, but Buffy simply stared out the window, too saddened to say anything but a few 'Uh-huh's' and 'really's' to the overly talkative woman's stories and questions. Buffy had had the worst week of her whole life and now she was on her way to live with people she didn't even know. Her mother had died the week before. Joyce Summers was a very organized and prepared woman. When she had first been diagnosed with a brain tumor, she had feared her life would soon be over. She, unbeknownst to Buffy, had handled everything that would need to be done if and when she passed, including Buffy's new living arrangements. After her mother's funeral, Buffy was to go live with her mother's oldest and dearest friend, Rupert Giles, and now, that's exactly where she was headed.

Buffy had so many emotions ripping through her. A sickening mixture of horrible sadness, fear, nervousness and depression were intoxicating her body, making the seventeen-year-old physically and emotionally ill. She had been seated on this bus for fifteen hours, and it was finally coming to a stop. Finally or already, Buffy couldn't decide. Even though she was sore and stiff from the unbelievably long bus ride, she also knew that reaching their destination meant a new life, with new people, in a new country, without her mother. As the bus came to a jolting stop, the drive announced over the loud speaker.

"Last stop, Birmingham."

Buffy sighed deeply, both with sadness for the loss of her mother and nervousness for what was to come. She slowly stood up, the annoying woman that had sat next to her already long gone, and grabbed her carry-on from the compartment above her head. She made her way off the bus, looking around at her new surroundings. She could feel butterflies in the pit of her stomach and her heart begin to race as she looked around for the man her mother's lawyer had described to her before getting on the plane. She hadn't seen a picture of him so she wasn't completely sure of what he looked like, just a generic description of the older man. As she took her suitcase from the group of luggage the bus driver had taken out of the storage compartment of the bus, she felt a tap on her shoulder and quickly turned around.

"I'm sorry, did I frighten you?" an older man with glasses asked and she nodded slightly.

"No, it's fine…" Buffy's tone seemed unsure and the man could sense this.

"I'm Rupert Giles" he introduced himself, sticking out his hand to her and she shook it politely.

"I'm—"

"Buffy, yes, I know" he told her. Her expression still looked confused so he figured he'd better elaborate. "Your mother sent me a picture. Well, pictures actually."

"Oh" she said plainly.

"Please allow me to start by giving my sincerest condolences on your loss. Joyce was a wonderful woman and we were great friends." Buffy just stared at him, not replying so he continued. "Why don't we get home, aye? You must be exhausted after such a long journey." Buffy again nodded, after a fifteen-hour plane ride and seventeen-hour bus ride, she really was beyond tired. "May I take your bag?" She handed it to him, still not speaking, and followed him to his car. He put the suitcase into the trunk and opened the passenger side door for her and she got in. After shutting her door, he got into the driver's side and began driving. "I've arranged for the rest of your belongings to be sent here" he told her, trying to make small-talk; she wasn't the only one who was feeling uncomfortable.

"Thanks" was all Buffy said, not making eye contact. She just stared at the window, silently taking in all that was around her.

The remaining ten minutes of driving was filled with uncomfortable silence, neither of two knowing what to say to each other. It was true, they had never met before, but Joyce had told him many things about her daughter. He knew he would have to give her time to adjust. If losing her mother wasn't hard enough, now she was in a completely new place, with no friends or family to speak of – this had to be hard for her.

Soon, Giles pulled into the long driveway of his enormous house, a mansion really, Buffy thought. As the car came to a stop, he got out, retrieving her bag from the trunk as she looked around.

"Holy crap" she said, mainly to herself, at the sight of what would now be her home. This house was much bigger than hers, in fact, she thought her house could fit in this one.

"What do you think, Buffy?" Giles asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looked at him and then back at the house.

"Nice" was what she settled on, not really knowing what else to say.

"Let's get inside, it's cold" Giles said. She followed him up the porch steps and watched him unlock the door, opening it for her to enter first. She hesitated for a second, looking around once more before entering the house. Giles set her suitcase just inside the big foyer as she looked around in awe. Right passed the foyer was a large staircase that led to upstairs. To the right of the was the huge living room and to the left of the stairs was a dining room that led to a large kitchen. Buffy walked around, checking out all the rooms on the first floor. Giles just stood back, letting her familiarize herself with her new home. After a couple minutes he spoke.

"Would you like to see your room?"

Buffy looked at him and nodded.

"Sure."

"Follow me" he told her, grabbing her suitcase and ascending the staircase; Buffy followed. Once they climbed the stairs, Buffy noticed you could either turn left or right; there were many rooms on either side. Giles turned right and walked down the wide hallway and stopped at the door at the end. He opened the door, motioning for her to enter and she did, him following. "So, this is it. I know it isn't much, but you'll be able to fill it with your belongings in a couple days."

Buffy looked around the room. _Holy hell, this is huge!_ Buffy thought as she did a 360 turn in the room, taking in everything. The room was at least twice the size of her old one, if not more. She could feel a twinge of excitement at the enormous bedroom, but still would have taken her old, smaller one in Sunnydale with her mother any day.

"What do you think, Buffy?" Giles asked after a few moments of silence. She looked at him and gave him a small smile.

"It's…I like it" she told him, not really knowing what else to say. He returned her smile and put down her bag.

"Well, I'll leave you to settle in. When you feel up to it, come downstairs and I'll introduce you to my son…whenever he returns" Giles told her, looking out her bedroom door.

"You have a son?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, he's twenty and quite the ruffian sometimes. He has a good heart though and he means well" Giles told her. She was a little relieved it wouldn't just be her and Giles in the house, not because she got a creepy vibe from him or anything, but just because she thought it might be awkward, it only being the two of them in that big house. On the other hand, it somehow made her even more nervous that there would be a guy not too much older than her in the house. How would she walk around in her pj's with no makeup when his son would be around? _Hopefully he's a dud_ , Buffy thought, feeling that if he were the slightest bit attractive to her, she'd never be able to leave her room.

"What's his name?" Buffy asked after a few moments. Giles sighed with exasperation at her question and then answered.

"His name's William…but he insists people call him…Spike." Giles shuddered at the nickname, obviously irritated at the sound of it. Buffy couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"Spike? Okay…" Giles smiled at her, removing his glasses and cleaning them with a handkerchief he retrieved from his pocket. After polishing them for a moment, he stuck the handkerchief back in his pocket and sighed.

"Well, I'll let you get settled. I'll see you in a bit." She nodded agreeably and he gave her one last small smile before leaving her room, shutting the door behind him.

Buffy sighed, looking around the room again. It had what had to be a king sized bed, which was covered with what Buffy guessed was a pretty expensive bed set. It was pink and had orange, lime green and purple polka dots on it. The pillows were the same orange as the comforter and had smaller polka dots that were pink, lime green and purple; the bed skirt was the same pattern and color as the pillow cases. Buffy swung her suitcase on to her new bed and opened it, looking at the stuff she had decided she needed right away. There were a few outfits—Giles had promised to have the rest of her stuff there in the next three days—her stuffed pig, Mr. Gordo, a picture frame with a picture of her and her mother, a smallish makeup bag that had her most used makeup in it, a couple pairs of pajamas, her mp3 player and her laptop. In her carry-on bag she packed all her beauty essentials like her toothbrush, hair brush, a small hair dryer and hair straightener, her deodorant and her body spray. After putting the few things she brought away—her pajamas in the dresser that was already in the room and her clothes in her large walk-in closet—she pondered joining Giles downstairs like he had requested. She was still very uncomfortable and didn't feel easy wondering the house, whether it was alone or with Giles and/or is son. After thinking it over a few minutes and hearing her stomach demanding food with a growl, she decided to suck it up and go downstairs.

Buffy walked down the stairs and into the kitchen—no one. She sighed, not really knowing where anyone was. She decided to check in the living room and found Giles, and a guy she assumed was his son, sitting on the large, fluffy sofa.

"Oh, Buffy, come and sit, please" Giles greeted her with a warm smile. She took a deep, but quiet breath, before entering fully into the living room and sitting in the recliner near the couch. "Buffy, this is my son, William." Buffy saw his son roll his eyes before speaking.

"How many times do I have to tell you, pop? It's Spike" Spike told his father before turning his attention to Buffy. "Nice to meet ya, luv. I hear you're gonna be stayin here." Buffy just nodded, not really knowing what she should say. "Name's Spike."

"Buffy…but you knew that already" Buffy said, feeling her cheeks turning red. Spike smirked at her, obviously amused at her discomfort.

"William, why don't you show Buffy the town? If you can tear yourself away from those dreadful mates of yours for a night" Giles told his son and Spike once again rolled his eyes. Buffy wasn't sure if it was because of his father's remark or the fact that he had just volunteered him as a tour guide.

"Oh, y—you don't have to…" Buffy said, not wanting to be any trouble.

"S'alright, pet" Spike said. "It's not a problem. If you'd like to see the town I could show it to you." Buffy nodded in agreement.

"O—okay."

"Good, then. You all can clear off after high tea. I trust you must be puckish after your trip" Giles told Buffy.

"Yeah, I am actually" Buffy said and Giles nodded.

"The cook is preparing dinner now. Should be ready in the next half an hour. William?... William?" Giles aid, trying to get Spike's attention. Buffy looked at him and noticed he'd been staring at her and instantly felt self-conscious.

"Huh? What's that?" Spike asked, snapping out of his trance. Giles seemed to notice he'd been staring too and shot a warning look at his son. Spike ignored it, waiting for his father to continue.

"Would you show Buffy the house, please?"

"Uh, yeah, sure thing, pop" Spike said, standing up. "Right this way, luv."

Buffy followed him from room to room as she showed her around, making small talk at the same time. Before Buffy knew it, it was time for dinner and they all gathered in the dining room where the cook had placed three plates of food on the table and three glasses for beverages.

"Buffy, I didn't even ask. Do you like pot roast?" Giles asked once they had sat down.

"Oh, yeah" Buffy told him. She suddenly felt a wave of sadness hit her. It was true, she loved pot roast, but it was also her mother's specialty and did nothing but remind Buffy of her mother and how she was gone—forever.

"Drink, miss?" a man dressed in a butler's uniform asked, pulling Buffy out of her thoughts.

"Buffy, this is Vincenzo, our butler. Vincenzo, this is Buffy" Giles introduced them and Vincenzo smiled politely.

"Nice to meet you, Buffy."

"You too" Buffy said in a small voice. "And I'll just have water, please."

"Of course" Vincenzo said, turning his attention to the men of the house.

"Master Giles, William?"

"Vinny, please, I have to deal with pop calling me that Nancy-boy name. Not you too" Spike told him.

"Right, Spike" Vincenzo corrected himself.

"Iced tea, please, Vincenzo" Giles said after rolling his eyes at his son's remark. Spike ignored it and answered Vincenzo as well.

"Tea too, please."

"Right away" Vincenzo said and disappeared into the kitchen. A few moments later, he returned with a pitcher of iced tea and a pitcher of ice water. He poured some water into Buffy's glass and then poured the men their iced tea.

"Thank you, Vincenzo. You can retire to your room if you wish" Giles told him and Vincenzo smiled gratefully and went upstairs.

Dinner was filled with uncomfortable small talk with even more uncomfortable silence in between. Every time the room fell silent, Buffy hoped someone would start talking again, so they didn't stare at her, expecting her to say something. After they finished eating, Spike kept his promise to show her around town. Even though Buffy would have been just as happy—maybe happier—returning to her room for the night, she agreed to let Spike take her out and show her around.

"Where are we?" Buffy asked when Spike pulled into a parking lot and turned off the engine.

"Just a spot the mates and I like to hang out" Spike told her, getting out of the car. Buffy got out also, following him into the club, which Buffy knew was called _The Chatterbox_ only from the neon blue sign that hung above the entrance. Spike immediately went over to a table full of people, Buffy in tow.

"Hey, Spike" a woman greeted him.

"Hey, guys. This is…well, a new friend I guess" Spike said. "She's gonna be livin with pop and I; her name's Buffy. Buffy, these are my mates. That's Ellie, Scott, Emma and Hunter."

"Hi, Buffy" the girl who had greeted Spike, who Buffy now knew as Ellie, said with a friendly smile.

"Nice to meet you all" Buffy said with a small smile, feeling a little nervous. She honestly would have rather have went up to her room after dinner and stayed there, indefinitely. She appreciated what Giles was trying to do though, attempting to keep her busy so she wouldn't be overpowered by sadness. As good as his intentions were, Buffy was still very sad and really just wanted to go home—her new home—and sulk in her new room.

"So, luv" Spike spoke up, pulling Buffy out of her thoughts. "Care to dance?" She looked at him and then down to his hand that he had stuck out to her. She thought, only for a second, before taking it in hers with a small smile. He led her through a crowd of people on to the dance floor, the two other couples at the table following, as a slow song came on. Buffy instantly got nervous; fast dancing she was good at, but slow dancing? It wasn't that she didn't know how, it was dancing with Spike that made her nervous. Even though she tried to ignore it, she had to admit, he was damn sexy. His bleached, platinum blonde hair was gelled back some, but small curls still formed all over his head. He had the bluest eyes of anyone Buffy had ever seen and the black t-shirt he worse under his leather duster showed off his tight—and hot—muscled body. The air caught in Buffy's throat as Spike pulled her close to him, his arms around her waist. Buffy wasn't sure where to put her hands, but settled on placing them around his neck. As the music continued to play, she slowly started calming her nerves. Spike smirked as he felt her relax against him as they swayed to the music. By the end of the song, Buffy's head was rested on Spike's shoulder, one hand in his, pressed against his chest and the other on his upper arm. Spike's grip on her waist didn't loosen until the song came to an end. When the song transitioned to a faster one, Spike reluctantly let her go and they moved far enough away from each other so Buffy could look in his eyes. What exactly was happening here? She had just met this guy this afternoon and already had a crush? Maybe it was just all that had happened over the past week. Maybe her nerves were so shot that she just needed to feel…anything.

After a few beats of silence, Spike cleared his throat awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"Uh, y—you're a great dancer, luv" he told her. _What the bleeding hell is wrong with you, you git?_ He asked himself. _She's just a girl and you barely know her. Get a grip!_

"Thanks" Buffy said in a small voice, smiling slightly. Neither of them really knew what to say next.

"Thirsty?" is what he settled on as she followed him back to their table.

"Parched actually" Buffy told him.

"What'll you have?" he asked as she sat down in the seat that had her coat draped over the back.

"Diet coke, please" Buffy told him, reaching into her purse for her wallet. Spike stopped her with a wave of his hand.

"Don't worry about it, luv. I'm paying."

Buffy looked up at him. "No, you don't have to—"

"I know, I want to" he told her before disappearing back into the crowd, making his way to the bar. After he was out of sight, his friends came back over to the table, as if they had waited for him to leave before returning.

"So, tell us about yourself, Buffy" Scott said as the two couples sat back down. Buffy picked at her cuticles nervously.

"Not much to tell."

"Where are you from?" Hunter asked her.

"Originally from Los Angeles, but when my parents got divorced, my mother and I moved to Sunnydale, a small town a few hours from LA.

"What brings you here?" Scott asked. Buffy looked down at her hands, which were still fidgeting apprehensively.

"Uh… m—my mom died. She had a brain tumor and… Well, after she died I found out that she had arranged for me to come here to live with Giles and Spike if…"

"I'm really sorry for your loss" Emma told her. "When did it…?"

"8 days ago" Buffy said sadly, looking down at her hands that were now fidgeting. Just then, Spike came back to the table with two drinks and set one down in front of Buffy.

"There ya go, luv."

"Thanks…" Buffy said, turning the straw around in her drink and taking a small drink from it.

"You okay?" he asked her, sitting down next to her.

"Would it be okay if we just went home?" Buffy asked. She chuckled to herself, she still wasn't used to her home being here instead of back with her mother. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be trouble, I'm just not…"

Spike looked at her, noticing that her eyes were glistening from tears she was trying to keep at bay. "Uh, sure, luv. It's no problem. Let's get you home." She put on her coat and he put a comforting hand on her back to lead her out of the club. "Bye, guys" he called over his shoulder to his friends as he and Buffy made their way outside.

Spike and Buffy made their way back home rather quickly; the traffic was low and, somehow, they made all the lights before they turned red. Once Spike pulled into the long driveway and turned off the engine, he got out, quickly going over to her side of the car and opening the door for her.

"Thanks" she said in a small voice. He shut the door and she followed him up the porch steps and into the house. He took her coat off for her and hung it on the coatrack, then ushered her into the living room. She didn't understand why he was being so nice and caring to her; he barely knew her. Her honestly didn't know why either, he just felt for her, having gone through the same thing a few years ago. She sat down on the sofa and he sat next to her. They were silent for a couple minutes until he spoke up.

"Not that it's any consolation, but I know how you feel" he told her. She looked at him seemingly confused, so he continued. "My mum died when I was fourteen."

"I'm sorry."

"No, I didn't tell you because… I just wanted to let you know, I know what you're going through… If you ever wanna… talk…" He felt a little embarrassed, her seeing the softer side of him, but for some reason – which he didn't understand – he felt for her and just wanted her to feel better.

"Thank you" she said, managing a smile and then yawned.

"Maybe you should go get some rest, luv" he told her.

"Yeah" she agreed. "I haven't slept much since my mom…"

"Nightmares?" he asked and she looked at him surprised. "Been through it too" he reminded her and she nodded.

"Night" she said, getting up and going upstairs. He looked on after her with a bit of sadness. _What the bleeding hell is goin on?_ He usually didn't crush on a girl this quickly this much. He wasn't sure if it was because he could relate to her or because she was just so damn hot. _She really is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen_ , he thought and shook his head, trying to make the thoughts go away. He knew his father wouldn't like it if something were to happen between him and Buffy. He didn't even know how she felt about him, and he didn't want to hit on her when she was mourning so much. He sighed, the many thoughts making him tired as well, and went upstairs to his own room, which was on the other side of the house.

Buffy changed into her pajamas and sat down at the vanity. She brushed out her long, blonde hair and put the brush back down on the vanity, looking into the mirror. Her eyes had bags underneath them, which was a look she wasn't used to. As she stared at herself through the mirror she could see tears starting to form in her eyes and slowly trickle down her cheeks.

"I miss you so much, mom" she said. "How am I supposed to go on without you?" The tears continued to fall as she got up and went over to her bed, laying down and hugging a pillow to her chest as she started to cry.


	2. Temporary Solace

**AN: Hey, guys! I hope you like my new story! Before anyone says anything, I know Buffy's mom died when Buffy was 20 on the show, but that's why it's AU & that's the whole point of fanfiction, right? Anyway, please r/r & I hope you enjoy chapter 2!**

Buffy woke up to sunlight shining in through her bedroom windows. She had cried herself to sleep the night before and, for the first time since her mother passed, she actually got a good night's sleep. After stretching, she sat up. For a second she felt okay, but reality quickly hit her like a ton of bricks and suddenly her heart was heavy again. She sighed and got out of bed, glancing at the alarm clock on her nightstand; it read 9:45am. She opened her bedroom door and stuck her head out, seeing if she could see or hear anyone walking around. Being that she had lived in this new house for less than 24-hours, she was still quite uncomfortable walking around aimlessly. She didn't see anyone in the upstairs hallway, so she stepped out of her room, shutting the door before going over to the staircase. She looked over the banister to the foyer, which was also bathed in sunlight. As she sat there, looking, she saw Spike and Giles walk into the foyer from the kitchen and stepped back a bit so they wouldn't see her. She heard Spike saying goodbye to his father—he was leaving for work—and then heard them saying something about her so she quietly went back to her room, shutting the door and sitting back on her bed. She didn't know exactly what they'd been saying about her, but she assumed it was something about her being in grieving and giving her space. She chuckled to herself, it was like there was a manual for this kind of thing or something. As she laid back on her pillows, rolling on her side and hugging a pillow to her chest, she heard a knock at her door and turned toward it.

"Come in" she said to whoever was knocking. The door opened and Spike appeared.

"Hey, Goldilocks." Buffy sat up and looked at Spike, who leaned against her doorway with his arms crossed.

"Hi."

"You okay?" he asked, but rephrased his question at the look on her face. "I mean, I know you're not okay. I just meant…"

"I know what you meant" Buffy told him. "But… I honestly couldn't tell you how I am. I know I'm scared." Spike looked a little confused.

"Scared of what, luv?" She could feel the tears starting to form in her eyes again as she took a breath to explain.

"I… I'm afraid I'm gonna be crippled with sadness forever. I mean… my mom was… we were so close. I just miss her so fucking much, Spike." She couldn't help the tears now as they began to fall from her eyes. Spike looked at her with sympathy. He didn't know what to do for her. He wanted to hold her, but he didn't know if that was invading her personal space or not.

"I know" he finally said in a low, but sweet voice. He went over and sat on the edge of her bed, trying to feel her out. He didn't want to cross the line with her, but he hated seeing this beautiful girl so incredibly sad.

"How long?" she asked, looking at him with tear-stained eyes. He was confused again.

"How…long?" he asked.

"How long did you feel like dying?" she asked him. "How long did you feel like… nothing was ever gonna make you happy again?" He thought for a moment, trying to give her a true, but careful answer, not wanting to upset her even more.

"Honestly? I didn't feel completely happy until a year had passed" he told her. "But, after a couple months… I didn't feel like dying anymore. I could laugh without feeling guilty. It'll never be okay that she's gone, luv… but I promise, it'll get better… eventually." She attempted to give him a smile, but it came out weak.

"I just want her back, Spike" she told him, beginning to cry again. This time, he took a chance and moved closer to her, putting his arm around her and pulling her into him; she let him hold her. They just sat there for a while, him holding her, letting her sob into his chest. He didn't know what to say anymore so he didn't say anything. He just sat with her and let her cry, stroking her hair lightly. After almost an hour of sobbing, she fell asleep in his arms. He leaned her back on to her pillows and covered her with a blanket. He remembered how much he wanted to sleep after his mother died; it felt better to sleep. Sleeping helped him escape from the debilitating sadness and overwhelming grief he felt. He figured it was the same for her, so he left the room quietly, not wanting to wake her. Before leaving her room, he looked at the blonde once more. Even with red, puffy eyes, she was still the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. After staring at her for a couple moments, he left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Spike walked down the stairs slowly and went into the kitchen for something to drink. He didn't know why he was having these intense feelings toward Buffy, feelings he had never felt for any other woman, not even his ex-girlfriend whom he thought he was in love with, Drusilla. It was safe to say, he was confused as hell. He'd only known Buffy for less than two days, but he was developing a huge crush on her that he didn't want to have. Not because she wasn't attractive to him; she was. He felt that attempting to start anything with her would be inappropriate, both because she was in such grief and because she was now living under his roof and his father, oh, his father wouldn't like it at all, he assumed. Giles was kind of a stickler about such things. He could hear his father's words now: _bloody hell, William! She just lost her mother and she's living down the hall from you! You cannot attempt to woo her! You and her CANNOT happen, do I make myself clear?_ He chuckled to himself, thinking of how his father would react, Giles was so predictable. As he opened the fridge and got out a pitcher of iced tea, he heard someone enter the kitchen and turned around to see Vincenzo.

"Master Will—I mean, Spike" Vincenzo said greeted him.

"Hey, Vinny."

"Have you spoken to Miss Elizabeth?" Vincenzo asked and Spike looked at him with confusion.

"Elizabeth?"

"Yes…Master Giles told me that was her full given name" Vincenzo told him.

"Oh, you mean Buffy. Yeah, I just came from her rom" Spike told him and then rolled his eyes at the look he got from the butler. "Vinny, nothing happened. She was upset and we just talked and I let her cry."

Vincenzo shook his head understandably. "So she's not doing so well?"

"I don't think so" Spike sighed, sitting at the kitchen island and poured himself a glass of iced tea. "I just feel so bad for her. I know how horrible that pain is and that there's nothing anyone can do to make it better."

"I think the only thing you can do is be there when she needs to talk, like you're doing. Like you said, no one can take that pain away, Master Spike—"

"Vinny, please, just Spike, okay?" Vincenzo nodded.

"As you wish. Well, I have some things to do around here. If you need anything let me know. And please tell Miss Elizabeth that if she needs anything not to hesitate to ask." This time it was Spike who nodded.

"Will do, Vin." Vincenzo gave him a smile before leaving the kitchen. Spike sighed, taking a drink of his tea and then got up, put the pitcher back into the fridge and, glass in hand, went into the living room to watch tv and wait for Buffy to wake up.

Buffy eyes fluttered open as she awoke a couple hours later. She stretched a bit and looked over at her alarm clock and it read 11:45. She groaned and sat up, stretching some more before getting out of bed. She looked at herself in her full-length mirror; she looked horrible, at least in her opinion. Her eyes we no longer red, but they were still quite puffy from crying earlier. Her hair was in a messy bun, pieces frizzy around her face from sleeping. She was still wearing her pajamas and had no desire to change, but felt embarrassed to walk around the house—around Spike—in her pj's, so she decided to just change into something comfy. After looking through the few clothes she brought with her, she decided on a pair of gray sweatpants and a hot pink hoodie that had 'Aero' in gray letters. After changing and putting on a soft pair of pink socks, she brushed out her long hair, leaving it down. Once she looked presentable enough, she decided to go downstairs to find Spike. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she thought she was beginning to get a crush on him. _What the hell is wrong with you? You can't have feelings for him! He's practically your brother now!_ Even though that wasn't exactly true, she figured it would be disrespectful to Giles to start something with his son. Besides, she had only known him for less than two days, maybe she was just emotionally confused because of everything she was going through. Sighing with frustration, sadness and confusion, she descended the stairs and walked into the living room where she heard the tv and found Spike flipping through the channels. When he saw her, he muted the television.

"Hey, luv, come and sit" he said, patting the cushion next to him. She gave him a small smile and went over, sitting next to him and hugging a pillow to her chest. "How, uh… are you?"

"Okay, well, as okay as…" he gave her an explicable nod.

"Yeah" he said softly.

"I… I just wanna thank you" she said, turning slightly toward him. "I know you barely know me, but… it helps, being able to talk to you, knowing you've gone through this. You're a really sweet guy." He gave her a small smile.

"It's nothin, luv."

"But it is" she said, placing a hand over the one he had on the cushion next to him. "Thank you so much."

"Anytime, Goldilocks" he said and she smiled at him, then her smile faded. They sat there for a few moments in silence, the tv still muted, before she took a breath to speak again, but said nothing. "Somethin else, pet?"

"N—no…never mind" she said, but he was intrigued.

"What is it?"

"Could we…like, go somewhere?" she asked and he looked at her, confused as to what exactly she meant.

"Where?"

"Anywhere" she told him. "I think getting out of the house and staying busy might help…" He smiled sympathetically at her and nodded.

"It does help" he told her. "Sure thing, luv. Lemme get my car keys and wallet and we can go anywhere you want."

"Okay" she said in her usual small voice and he got up and went upstairs. A couple minutes later, he came back downstairs with his leather duster on and his keys in his hand.

"Let's push off then." He stuck out his hand to her and she took it, letting him pull her up from the couch. She put on her tennis shoes that she had taken off by the front door and they left the house. He opened the passenger side door for her and she got in. After shutting her door, he went over to his side and got in as well. After starting the engine, he began to drive. "So, where to, luv?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know… Surprise me" she told him and he nodded agreeably.

They drove for about fifteen minutes before Spike pulled off the main road onto a dirt one. Buffy looked around and then looked at him. He sensed nervousness coming from her so he decided to clarify the situation to put her at ease.

"Don't worry, luv. I know you don't know me that well, but trust me. I have somewhere I wanna show you" he told her as he continued to drive on the dirt road for a few more minutes. After a while, he pulled off the dirt road into the grass and finally parked the car. Buffy looked around, still confused. They got out of the car and she followed him a couple yards to a cliff. She gasped in awe as she looked at the view. The cliff overlooked the city, it was absolutely beautiful to her.

"Oh my god" she breathed as he sat down in the grass at the edge of the cliff and she sat next to him.

"Gorgeous, ain't it?"

"Incredible" Buffy said, still looking around in awe. "How did you find this place?"

"Well" he began. "I was fourteen when my mum died and, obviously, couldn't drive yet. My best mate at the time was a couple years older than me and had his license. We were driving around cuz he knew I had to get out of the house, it reminding me of my mum, so we just drove, for a long time. Finally, after what seemed like hours of driving, we came across this place. I've been coming here ever since… it's where I…" he stopped, hesitating at the last part.

"Where you what?" she prodded, looking at him. He was staring out at the view, but she could still see sadness in his eyes.

"Where I talk to her" he finally said, looking Buffy in the eyes.

"Your mom?"

"Yeah. I've never brought anyone here… not even Dru." He looked out at the city again. Buffy could feel her heart melt a little. She felt honored that he had shared this place with her, being that it was so special to him and that he hadn't showed it to anyone else.

"Tell me about her" Buffy said and he looked at her again.

"Dru?" he asked, confused.

"No, your mom" Buffy told him and he sighed. "U—unless you don't want to."

"I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you about my mum if you tell me about yours" Spike told her and she nodded in agreement.

"Okay." Spike took another breath before speaking.

"Her name was Emily, Emily Anne Pratt-Giles, but everyone called her Anne" he began. "She was… the most wonderful woman in the world. She always had a kind word for everyone. I was… her whole word, that's what she'd always tell me. I guess you could say I was a mama's boy." A proud smile came across his face at that last statement.

"Did she work?" Buffy asked.

"Before I was born she was a school teacher. By the time she got pregnant with me, pop's business had taken off and she didn't need to work anymore, so she didn't. After I was born, if she'd get an itch to work, she'd substitute every once in a while, but, mostly, her job was taking care of me" Spike explained.

"What happened to her? I mean, how'd she…?" Buffy asked.

"When I was twelve, she was diagnosed with breast cancer" he told her. "She fought hard for two years, but… Then, she got worse, got really sick and weak. She died a month after my fourteenth birthday." Buffy could tell, even from his profile, that tears were beginning to fall from his eyes.

"I'm sorry" she said quietly. He quickly wiped the tears away and looked at her.

"It was a long time ago, luv" he said. "It still hurts, but… coming here helps." After a couple beats of silence, he sighed. "So, your turn."

This time it was Buffy who sighed. She wanted to tell him about her mother, but feared talking about her would make her cry again. Still, a deal was a deal.

"Her name was Joyce Summers" Buffy told him, subconsciously gripping the pendant around her neck. It was a present from her mother for her sixteenth birthday the year before. "She was… everything to me. We were really close, best friends even, and we did everything together. When my parents got divorced and my mom and I moved to Sunnydale, she… it was like she felt guilty for taking me out of my school and away from my life there, but I was getting into some trouble, in with the wrong crowd if you will." She continued to hold the necklace in her hand tightly as she looked at the view of the city. Spike started at her, engrossed in her story.

"Why'd you move to Sunnydale?" he asked.

"My mom thought we both needed a fresh start. My dad had been non-existent in both our lives long before my parents got divorced. Once their marriage was officially over, my mom decided to get us as far away from all the negativity as possible, so we moved. For the first week, I didn't talk to anyone, but my mom of course. I hadn't made any friends and, I just felt lonely and isolated. After about a week, I met my best friends, Willow and Xander."

"Did your mum approve of your friendship with them?" Spike asked.

"Oh, yeah, definitely. She thought they were great influences and was happy I met people who weren't troublemakers" she chuckled at that. "My mom was… the best mom I could have asked for, and now…" She could feel the tears starting to fall and Spike put a comforting hand on her back.

"We can talk about something else if you want" he offered and she looked at him, giving him a small smile. "Tell me about your mates back home."

"My mates? I didn't mate with anyone, I'm a virgin" Buffy said, a little too defensively. Spike smirked at her.

"I meant friends, luv" he said, still smirking. Buffy's face instantly turned red as she realized her mistake and immediately regretted her little outburst.

"Oh, right, I knew that."

"A virgin, huh?" he asked, continuing to smirk at the mortifying look on her face.

"Oh, god" she said, completely embarrassed and buried her head in her hands.

"I'm just havin a little fun with you, pet, don't worry about it" Spike said. "So, you're *friends*?" She looked up at him, her face still flushed with embarrassment.

"Right, friends" she said, trying to change the subject and forget about her little misunderstanding. "Will and Xander. They were in my second period class and we just started talking and became quick friends. They're both my best friends, but Willow and I are closer, only in the way that a girl needs a girl best friend, you know?" Spike just nodded. "They're great… I miss them a lot."

"Maybe we could arrange a visit" Spike told her and her eyes lit up.

"Seriously? How? I could never afford to fly them here and neither of them have that kinda money."

"My pop does" Spike reminded her.

"Spike, I could never ask—"

"You don't have to, I'll take care of it" he said, standing up and pulling her up with him.

"You're serious?" she asked, astonished at what he was offering. He was talking about at least $1,500, if not more.

"As a bloody heart attack" he told her with a smirk. She smiled, jumping into his arms and giving him a huge hug.

"Oh my god, thank you so much, Spike!" he awkwardly put his hand on her back, patting her a few times.

"It's no problem, luv." She let him go and stepped back a bit to look at him.

"This is great! I've missed them so much and thought we'd never see each other again, or at least for a long time. Really, thank you."

"You're quite welcome" he told her. "Why don't we get outta here? My stomach's makin all kinds of gurglies. Wanna go get some lunch?"

"Sure" she said, following him to his car.

They drove to a small café and had lunch, for which he paid, and then proceeded back home.

"So, when did you want your mates to visit, luv?" Spike asked once they were settled in the living room watching tv.

"As soon as possible" Buffy told him eagerly. "I mean, if it'll be okay with your dad."

"I'm sure it won't be a problem, luv" Spike said. "Pop has all kinds of miles racked up on his credit card that he doesn't use because when he travels for business, it's written off. I'll talk to him tonight when he gets home from work."

"Again, thank you so much. You're… this day has been… not so awful, and that's because of you. You're really sweet" she told him with a smile.

"Thanks, luv. It's easy to be around you" he returned her smile. She looked at him for a few moments and, before either of them knew what was happening, Spike felt Buffy's lips on his.


	3. Feeling It

Spike felt Buffy's lips on his, soft and delicate. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her deeper into the kiss as their tongues met. Finally, reality set in and he realized what was happening. Quickly and regrettably, he pulled away, scooting back on the couch a bit to put some distance between them.

"Whoa, luv… we can't do this" he said. She looked at him, a little hurt and stood up.

"I get it" she said. "You could have any girl you wanted, why would you want me? I'll be in my room." She went to leave and he quickly stood up, grabbing her wrist and turning her to face him.

"Hey, that isn't it at all, pet" he told her. "Don't you ever, *ever* think I don't find you attractive, because I bloody well do. It's just… my pop would have my head if anything were to happen between us. Plus… you're grieving, you don't know what you're doing."

Buffy scoffed, pulling her wrist out of his grasp. "You're right, Spike. I'm just a dumbass who has no idea what she wants."

"That's not what—"

"Forget it" she cut him off, storming upstairs to her room. He sighed heavily, smirking a bit to himself when he thought about her lips on his. He hated stopping her, hated rejecting her, but he knew exactly how his father would react. What was going to happen now? Would she hate him? Was there going to be tension between them now?

"Bloody hell" he said to himself, getting up, grabbing his duster and keys and leaving he house. He needed to get out to think. It had been such a good day, for both of them, and now everything was going to shit and he felt like it was all his fault.

Buffy slammed her bedroom door and flopped on her bed, beginning to cry. What the hell was she thinking? How could she have kissed him like that? She felt both embarrassed and rejected. Obviously Spike was using his father as an excuse because he didn't want to be involved with her in that way. Now things were going to be awkward in the house and Giles was going to wonder why.

"Ugh, I'm so stupid!" she said to herself, tears still running down her cheeks. She rolled on her back and looked up at the ceiling. "What am I gonna do, mom? What _did_ I do? And why did I do it?" _Obviously you like him, dumbass_ , she thought and then sighed. She just wished she could take back the kiss at this point. He really was a good kisser, though, and he *did* say he found her attractive. _He was probably just being nice_ , she thought, because he was such a sweet guy and he didn't want to hurt her feelings. Finally, Buffy sat up and wiped the tears away, getting out of bed and going over to the phone that was in her room. She picked it up and dialed her friend's number.

"Hello?" Buffy smiled at the familiar voice of her best friend.

"Hey, Will."

"Buffy!" Willow squealed. "Hi, how are y—I mean…"

"I know what you mean, Will. I'm… confused, that's why I'm calling. I have to talk to you about something."

"Okay" Willow said, waiting for her to continue. Buffy took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Well, I told you that I was going to live with my mom's friend, Mr. Giles, right?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah…" Willow said.

"Okay, well, Giles has a son named William, but he goes by Spike" Buffy told her.

"Ooh, is he a cutie patootie?" Willow asked.

"Major cutie patootie" Buffy confirmed. "But, I did something really stupid."

"Buffy, you didn't sleep with him, did you?"

"Will! No, of course not!" Buffy told her friend. "I just kissed him, but… he told me that nothing could happen between us because of his dad. I guess Giles warned him not to get involved with me. Now, I just feel embarrassed and stupid… but, I still…"

"You like him."

"Yeah" Buffy admitted. "But, obviously he doesn't feel the same way."

"How do you know that? Maybe he's just being respectful to his father" Willow suggested.

"I don't know… God, why did I kiss him?"

"Why did you?" Willow asked; Buffy sighed.

"I don't know" Buffy said. "He's just been so sweet to me these last few days, and we've both lost our mothers, so we've been talking, and… I just have a crush on him, I guess."

"Wow, a lot's happened in the two and a half days you've been there, huh?" Willow asked rhetorically.

"Yeah… I really miss you, Will. How have you been? How's Xander?"

"Good, Xander's good, we miss you too" Willow told her.

"Oh! I almost forgot, Spike said that he'd talk to Giles about you and Xander coming to visit soon" Buffy told her.

"Really? That's great" Willow said. "How… how are you doing… with… everything else?" She heard Buffy sigh over the phone.

"Trying not to kill myself" Buffy said sarcastically, but by her friend's silence, she could tell Willow thought she was serious. "Will, I'm being sarcastic."

"Don't say things like that" Willow said. "It scares me."

"I'm sorry, I just… I miss her so much."

"I know" Willow said sympathetically. Buffy heard someone come up the stairs and then a knock at her door.

"Will, I gotta go. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay. Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, talk to you later, Buff, bye" Willow said.

"Bye, Will." With that, Buffy hung up the phone and sighed. "Who is it?"

"It's me, luv" she heard Spike's voice on the other side of the door. A couple beats of silence passed before she spoke again.

"Come in" she said and the door opened and he walked into her room. "What?"

"What? Nice manners, pet."

"Well, I guess I don't handle rejection well" Buffy said sarcastically and Spike rolled his eyes.

"I didn't reject you, luv, I just… I don't want you to do anything you'll regret. Trust me, I think you're amazing and would love to get to know you better, but… "

"But what?" Buffy asked.

"You barely know me. I don't want you to… get to know me better and… not like what you get to know." Buffy looked up at him from the chair she was sitting at, he looked so timid and vulnerable; she couldn't help but smile a bit.

"You don't think I fear the same about you? I know we barely know each other. I know this is super-fast, but… I like being around you. Being with you makes living day by day not so horribly unbearable" she told him. Spike felt his heart melt at her words. It was true, he felt the same way. Even though they'd only known each other for two and a half short days, it felt like they'd known each other for much longer. He felt that if he didn't give this a chance, he'd spend his life regretting it.

"Come here, luv" he said after a few moments. She got up and he took her hands in his, pulling her closer to him. "If we're gonna do this, we have to do it slowly, get to know each other first, okay?" She nodded, finding it hard to speak all of the sudden. He pushed the hair out of her face and caressed her cheek. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, Goldilocks."

"Neither do you" she told him with a small smile and he returned it, smiling back. He lifted her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the back of it.

"One other thing, luv" he added. "We have to keep this a secret from my pop, at least for now. I don't think he'd take to it very well…"

"Okay" she agreed carefully.

"Don't think I'm ashamed, or afraid to tell him the truth, it's just…"

"It's okay" she said. "I understand." After a couple moments he chuckled.

"I can't believe this is happening" he told her. She smiled, looking into his eyes.

"Believe me, either can I. I mean… after my mom passed and I found out I was moving here… I was… angry to say the least. I thought my life was over and that I would never be happy again. And, even though I still feel… broken, being around you helps… so much." He leaned down, placing a soft and gentle kiss on her lips.

"I'm glad, pet" he said, pulling her into a hug.

That night, they all sat down to dinner, like they had the night before. As the cook brought their plates in, Buffy and Spike sat in silence, not really knowing what to say. Giles, looking back and forth between his son and his new sort of daughter, wondered what was wrong.

"How was your days?" Giles finally spoke up, trying to break the silence.

"Fine" Spike said plainly, taking a drink from his glass. Giles looked at Buffy.

"Okay" Buffy told him, picking at her food.

"I got the confirmation that the rest of your things should be here tomorrow morning" Giles told her.

"That's great" Buffy said. "Thank you." Giles nodded.

"Is everything okay? Are you two getting along okay?" Giles asked. Buffy and Spike looked at each other for a moment.

"Yeah, everything's fine, Pop" Spike assured him.

"Good then" Giles said, giving up.

After dinner, Giles excused himself to take a conference call in his office and Buffy and Spike retired to the living room to watch some tv.

"So" Spike said at a commercial break. "Tell me something about you, luv."

"What do you wanna know?"

"Everything." Buffy chuckled.

"I don't know where to start" she said and then smiled. "Let's play 20 questions."

"Okay" he agreed. "What's your favorite color?"

"Pink" she told him and he chuckled at her.

"How did I know that was gonna be your answer?"

"And what's yours? Black?" she asked playfully.

"Red actually" he told her.

"That was my next guess" she told him. "What's your favorite food?"

"That bloomin onion thingy they have at some restaurants" he told her. "What's yours?"

"Fries" she said.

"What's your favorite movie?" he asked her.

"Hmm…" she thought. "I'd have to say the Scream movies."

"What's your favorite scary movie?" he asked, reciting the famous line from the movie and she chuckled. "Which one is your favorite?"

"The first one" she said. "What's your favorite movie?"

"The Green Mile" he told her. "What's your favorite band?"

"Honestly? My favorite band is Dingoes Ate My Baby" she told him, smiling at the confused look on his face. "It's Will's boyfriend's band back home."

"Oh" he said.

"What about you?" she asked. Spike had muted the tv by this point, finding their conversation much more interesting. Buffy had turned toward him on the couch, sitting Indian style with a pillow over her lap.

"The Sex Pistols" Spike told her.

"When's your birthday?" Buffy asked.

"October 15th" Spike told her. "When's yours?"

"January 19th" she said.

"Well, your birthday's in about 2 months then" Spike said and she nodded, suddenly looking sad.

"It'll be my first without my mom. It'll be my first Christmas without her" Buffy said quietly.

"Hey, shhh, come here" Spike said, seeing her eyes fill with tears. He leaned over, pulling her into him and holding her, stroking the back of her hair.

"Ugh, I'm sorry" she said, pulling away to look at him.

"Don't be, luv" he said. "Don't ever be sorry for feeling sad about your mom, or anything for that matter... Do you wanna keep playing?"

"Yeah" she said, wiping the tears out of her eyes. "Your turn."

"Can I kiss you?" he asked and she looked at him, surprised, but then smiled a bit.

"You don't have to ask" she told him. He leaned over and kissed her lips softly, but she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. As his tongue crept into her mouth, they heard the door to Giles' office open and quickly broke apart, moving to opposite sides of the couch just as he came into the living room.

"I have to go into the office for a bit, you two" he said, then looked at them oddly. "Are you two up to something?"

"No, why would you ask that?" Spike asked.

"You two just seem too quiet" he said and then looked at the tv. "And the television's muted."

"We were just talking, pop, un-clench, will ya?" Giles looked skeptically at his son, but shook his head anyway.

"Well, I have to go. I'll be late so don't wait up…and behave" with that, he headed for the door.

"We will, Giles, don't worry" Buffy assured him and he turned back around.

"I was talking to William" he said, smiling at Buffy before leaving the house. Spike rolled his eyes at his father as both of them chuckled a bit.

"I feel guilty lying to your dad" Buffy admitted. "I mean, he took me in after everything and is letting me stay here, taking care of me. I just…"

"It'll be okay, luv. We don't have to lie forever, just a little while" Spike promised. "I just don't want anything to ruin this."

"Me either" she told him. "Anything else you wanna know?"

"Just one more thing for now" he told her and she looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "Can I hold you?" Without saying anything, she moved closer, snuggling into him. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the forehead and leaned them back on the couch, unmuting the tv. Buffy laid there in his arms and sighed with relaxation. For the first time since her mother died, she felt—at least somewhat—happy again.


	4. Conflicting Feelings

Buffy woke up the next day wanting to see Spike. The day—and night—before had been really special to her. Even though she was still overcome with sadness, he made living life bearable. After stretching, she got out of bed, looking at her alarm clock as she did every morning—7:30am. Buffy checked herself over quickly in the mirror just to make sure her hair wasn't a complete mess and her eyes weren't too puffy, then opened her bedroom door, shutting it behind her, and going downstairs. As she stepped off the last step, Giles came into the entryway from the kitchen, holding a thermos of coffee.

"Oh, good morning, Buffy" he greeted her with a smile. Buffy smiled back at him.

"Mornin, Giles."

"How was your sleep?" he asked, sipping from his coffee cup.

"It was okay, thanks" Buffy told him and he nodded.

"Well, I have to go to work so I'll see you later this evening. Your belongings should be here sometime this morning."

"Great, thank you" Buffy said politely, Giles nodded again with a smile. "Is Spike up?"

"He hasn't come out of his room yet, so I assume he's still sleeping" Giles told her. "Have a good day."

"You too, Giles." With that, he gave her one last smile and left the house. Buffy heard his car start and then heard him drive out of the driveway. Just as she was about to go back upstairs to see if Spike was awake, she heard footsteps descending the stairs and looked up to see Spike coming down; she smiled at the sight of him.

"Mornin, Goldilocks" he smirked at her as he came down the stairs to where she stood at the bottom.

"Morning" she smiled back.

"How'd you sleep, luv?" he asked, taking her by the hand and leading her into the living room where they could sit down. They sat together on the couch, careful not to sit too closely incase Vincenzo walked in on them—that would be a hard one to explain and Spike knew there was no way he'd keep their secret from his father.

"Pretty good actually" Buffy told him.

"Yeah? Glad to hear it" he told her.

"Giles said my stuff should be arriving this morning sometime" Buffy told him.

"That's good." Buffy nodded. A couple beats of silence passed before he saw Buffy frown. "You okay, luv?"

"I'm…yeah" was all Buffy said, but Spike was quickly getting to know the blonde and knew she wasn't being truthful.

"You don't have to put on a brave face for me, pet" he told her. "I know how you're feeling and I know it's gonna take time—a lot of time—to feel better about your mum not being here. You don't ever have to lie to me about feeling sad or depressed."

"I just don't want you to get tired of making me feel better" she said, half-jokingly. He looked at her, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it.

"Never gonna happen, Goldilocks." She smiled at him, suddenly feeling the need to kiss his lips, but refrained when she heard footsteps coming close to the living room. Spike, hearing them too, quickly let go of her hand just as Vincenzo came into the living room.

"Good morning, Spike, Miss Elizabeth."

"Mornin, Vin" Spike said.

"Good morning, Vincenzo" Buffy greeted him.

"Are you two hungry? I can have to cook prepare breakfast" Vincenzo told them and Spike looked at Buffy.

"Actually, we're gonna go out for breakfast, Vin, but thanks" Spike told him. Vincenzo smiled and nodded, leaving the living room.

"We're going out?" Buffy asked.

"Unless you don't want to" Spike told her. "I just wanna be alone with you." Buffy smiled at that; she wanted the same thing.

"No, that'd be nice" Buffy told him and he nodded. "I'm gonna go get ready and I'll be back down in a few."

"Right, I'm gonna go do the same" Spike said as the two got up and he followed her up the stairs, turning the opposite way once they reached the top.

Buffy looked at herself in the mirror. She had on a pair of maroon skinny jeans, a pink, orange, brown and maroon knit sweater that had a big turtle neck collar and was really soft and fitted against her flat abdomen, and her brown, knee-length boots. After curling her hair a bit and putting on some makeup, she checked herself over once more before leaving her room and going downstairs to where Spike was waiting for her.

"Okay, I'm beautiful again" she joked, coming into the living room. He smirked at her, coming over to where she stood by the entrance of the living room and looked her up and down.

"You're always beautiful" he told her and she smiled back at him.

"Thank you."

"You ready to go, luv?"

"Yeah" she said. He put a hand on her back and led her to the foyer where their coats were hanging. After helping her put on her coat, he put his on and took his keys out of his pocket.

"We'll be back later, Vinny" Spike called, opening the door and letting her out before him.

"Okay, be careful" Vincenzo called from the kitchen as Spike shut the front door. Spike opened Buffy's car door for her. After she got in, he shut her door and then got into the driver's side, starting the engine and beginning to drive.

"So" he said to her as he drove down the road. "Where do you wanna eat, Goldilocks?"

"Honestly, I'm not that hungry" she told him. "Could we go back to that place you showed me the other day?" He glanced over at her and gave her a small smile, lifting her hand to his lips and placing a small kiss on the back.

"Of course."

Once they had arrived at the cliff, Buffy and Spike got out of the car and walked over to the edge like they had the other day. Spike sat down in the grass and Buffy made herself comfortable in his lap. They sat there, his arms around her waist, looking at the view.

"I love it here" Buffy said, leaning back into Spike.

"Me too, luv." He kissed her on the cheek as they continued to look at the city.

"Next time, can you bring me here at night?" she asked him and he looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Night, huh?" he hinted jokingly.

"Because you said the view's better, smart ass" she joked back and he smirked at her.

"Sure thing, pet." After a couple beats of silence, she got off his lap and sat toward him, sitting Indian style on the grass.

"You wanna play 20 questions again?" she asked. "I'd like to know more about you."

"I'd like to know more about you too, luv" he said. "Okay, you first."

"Umm…" she thought. "Have you ever been in love?"

"I thought I was once" was all he said. She stared at him, waiting for him to continue, but he said nothing.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well what?"

"Tell me about her" Buffy told him and he sighed.

"Okay" he agreed. "Her name's Drusilla."

"Oh, the girl you mentioned last time we came here" Buffy acknowledged, Spike nodded.

"Yeah. I met her when I was fourteen, shortly after my mum passed. I was… I guess you could say 'going through something', and when I met her… She… entranced me. She was…. A black rose, a perfect dark Goddess" he explained.

"You sound like you still love her" Buffy told him and he shook his head.

"Na, never did, luv. I thought I did, but… it was infatuation, not love" he told her. "I was rebelling after mum died and just wanted to be as different from the person I was as I could be; she helped me with that" he chuckled. "Lost my virginity to her."

"Really?" Spike nodded. "How many other girls have you… you know?"

Spike looked at her with a bit of a smirk. "Jealous?" he joked.

"No, just curious" Buffy told him, her face turning slightly red.

"Too many" he finally said. "I didn't have a connection with them, any of them. It was just sex… a way to escape."

"So, what happened between you and Dru?"

"She was off her bleedin bird" Spike told her with a chuckle. "At first it was… she fascinated me, the way she was, the way she acted. But, after a while… she started talkin about weird shit, wanted me to do weird shit." Buffy raised an eyebrow at that.

"You mean sexually?"

"To name one" Spike told her. "But, she just started hanging out with people I didn't want anything to do with, even though I'd changed. She wanted to party every night, drink, do drugs—"

"Drugs?"

"Just pot at first, which I didn't mind. I do partake in a little green leaf every once in a while. But, then she started trying to get me to do harder things and… I just wasn't in to that" Spike told her.

"Is that why you broke up with her?" Buffy asked.

"No, I broke up with her because she was unfaithful" Spike told her. "I caught her making out with this dumb bloke she said she met at a club. After that, I found out she'd slept with him. That was the last straw, I don't tolerate cheating."

"I'm sorry" Buffy said sympathetically, taking his hand. He gave her a small smile and kissed her hand softly.

"Don't be, luv. I have you now, don't I."

"Yes you do" she smiled at him. He leaned over, kissing her lips softly. "Okay, you're turn."

"Same question" he said. "You got any exes you wanna tell me about?"

"There were only two, and neither of them were that serious" Buffy told him.

"Tell me" he told her.

"First there was Angel" she said. "We dated for about a year."

"Did you love him?"

"Yeah" Buffy said, looking out at the view. "I really did, but I don't think he really ever loved me."

"What happened?" Buffy looked back at Spike.

"I really don't know" she admitted. "One day he just… told me that we weren't working out and that he was leaving town. He moved to LA shortly after that. God, I was devastated. I met Parker a couple months after Angel and I broke up. I really liked him, but…"

"But what?" he asked when she hesitated.

"He broke it off when he realized I wasn't gonna sleep with him" Buffy told him, looking down at her hands that were in her lap.

"I'm sorry, luv" he told her.

"It's no big" she said, shrugging it off. He lifted her chin so she was looking at him.

"Well, it worked out good for me, pet."

"Me too" she smiled. He put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him and she snuggled into his chest as they laid back on the grass together.

"So, those were the only blokes you dated?" Spike asked her and felt her nod against his chest.

"Yep, both duds I guess" she said and he chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad they were, luv. Wouldn't have you now otherwise." She smiled at that, snuggling into him more.

"I wish we could tell your dad about us" Buffy admitted. "I just wanna be able to do this at home, or kiss you whenever I want."

"I want that too, pet" he told her. "I just think we should wait a little bit. Once we've been dating a while, then we can tell him."

"Okay" she agreed with a small sigh.

"I'm sorry." She leaned up a little so she could look at him.

"No, it's okay. I totally understand, I do" he leaned up to capture her lips in a soft kiss and then they laid back down. "I just wish things were different. I wish my mom was still alive so she could meet you. She always wanted me to find the right guy, a great guy who really cared about me; now that I have she isn't even here to see it." He held her a little tighter, kissing her forehead.

"I know, baby" he told her. She sighed, snuggling into him more and he felt her shiver against him. "You cold?"

"A little" she told him. "Wanna go make out in the car where it's warm?" He looked at her with the raise on an eyebrow and she smiled at him; he smirked back.

"Not gonna say no to an offer like that" he said and they both got up, heading back for the car.

After almost an hour-long make out session, they decided to call it quits for the moment and go back home, fearing Vincenzo would get suspicious as to why they were gone so long. After parking in the driveway, they both got out and proceeded into the house.

"Oh, there you two are" Vincenzo said, meeting them in the entryway. Buffy and Spike looked at each other, holding back smirks.

"Yeah, here we are… why?" Spike asked.

"Miss Elizabeth, your belongings have arrived" Vincenzo told her and her eyes lit up.

"Really? That's great!" she said happily.

"The movers took it all up to your room. There are quite a lot of boxes up there" he said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I have a lot of stuff" Buffy returned his mirth. "I'm gonna go start unpacking. Do you wanna help?" she asked, turning to Spike.

"Sure thing, luv" Spike said and followed Buffy up to her room. Buffy opened up her door and Spike's jaw dropped at the copious amounts of boxes and furniture that were crammed in the room. "Holy hell, Goldilocks."

"Told you I had a lot of stuff" Buffy chuckled at Spike's reaction.

"Yeah, this is gonna take a while" he said.

"Probably" Buffy said, opening one of the boxes and pulling out some of its contents. There were some pillows, a comforter and a soft pink blanket. "Ah, I missed my comfy blanky." Buffy hugged the blanket to her and Spike smiled at her, thinking she was being pretty adorable. He went over to another box and opened it, revealing panties and bras.

"Hmm, nice" he said, holding up a lacey pair of panties. Buffy looked over and her eyes widened. She reached over and snatched the panties out of his hand, her face bright red.

"I'll take care of that box, thank you" she said with embarrassment. "Go over there and open that one." Spike smirked at her, going over to another box and opening it up to find some books.

"Much less interesting, but okay" he joked and she glared playfully at him.

"You're ridiculous" she told him with a smile.

"Well, I'd rather see them on you anyway" he told her. "Or I'd like to take them off of you." He smirked at how red her face got, even redder than before. "Don't worry, luv. I'm not pushing. I'll wait as long as it takes."

"So, you think you're gonna be my first, huh?" she asked him with a crooked smile, her face still blushing. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, you _are_ my girlfriend, correct?" he asked.

"Yes" she said, smiling. That was the first time he had actually called her his girlfriend, it was definitely official now.

"And I intend on being with you for a long time to come" he continued. "I'm not expecting anything, luv, I'm just hoping that—someday—you'll want me to be your first." She walked over to him, putting her hands on his chest as his went around her waist.

"Maybe, someday" she told him sweetly and he leaned down and kissed her lips lightly.

"I guess I have something to look forward to then" he said. "Not that anything nice I do for you is just gonna be me trying to gain brownie points for sex."

"I know" she said, giving him another quick peck on the lips before going back over to the box she was working on.

An hour later, they only had a third of the boxes unpacked and decided to take a break, feeling restless by this point and needing to relax a little. Spike suggested they go watch some tv and Buffy agreed, although she wished they could lay together like she wanted, but knew they couldn't – at least not yet.

"What do you wanna watch, luv?" he asked her as he switched on the tv with the remote.

"I don't really care. As long as it isn't sports" Buffy told him and he chuckled.

"Don't have to worry about me ever watching any sports, pet. I'm not into any of that."

"Good" she said as he switched through the channels until he came to the discovery health channel. "Stop, let's watch this."

"Fine with me" he told her, putting the remote down on the coffee table. "Thirsty?"

"Parched."

"Okay, be right back." He disappeared into the kitchen and was met by Vincenzo who was loading the dishwasher.

"Hello, Spike" he greeted the bleached blonde.

"Hey, Vin" Spike said back, going over to the fridge and retrieving two cans of soda; a Coke for him and a Diet Coke for Buffy.

"How is Miss Elizabeth doing?" Vincenzo asked.

"I think she's doing a little better" Spike told him, leaning against the fridge.

"I see you've been helping her with that" Vincenzo said, taking the dish towel off the counter and drying his hands.

"Uh… well, we've just been talking. Since I lost mum a few years ago I know what she's going through so I can relate, y'know."

"It's more than that though, isn't it?" Vincenzo asked with the raise of an eyebrow and Spike felt his heart start to race. _Oh, shit, he knows_ , Spike though.

"W—what do you mean, Vin?"

"I see the way you two look at each other. And, I saw you kiss her yesterday" Vincenzo said, whispering the last part of his sentence. Spike's eyes widened and his heart sank.

"What? No, you must be—"

"Come now, William" Vincenzo scolded. "I've known you since you were born, don't lie to me. I know you two are more than friends or housemates. Don't worry, I won't tell your father, I just don't understand why you don't just tell him."

"Because he'd have a bird" Spike chuckled. "He warned me before Buffy moved in not to try anything with her. Thing is, she kissed me first, but… I really like her, Vin. She's the most amazing girl I've ever met and I don't want Pop to ruin what we've started. Please, don't tell him, okay?"

"I just said I wouldn't" Vincenzo told him and Spike breathed a sigh of relief. "But you two aren't sleeping together are you, because if she gets pregnant—"

"No! No, Vinny, we're not having sex. We just started a relationship" Spike told him and Vincenzo again raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, if memory serves, you've never cared about how long you've been with a girl before" Vincenzo told him.

"I know" Spike said. "But Buffy's different. She's incredible, she's… It's different with her, okay? I swear. I care about her, Vinny. I want us to take things slowly, get to know one another. This isn't about sex, it's about having something special, worth holding on to."

"I believe you" Vincenzo said. "Like I said, I've seen the way you two look at each other. And, you've really helped the girl. Your secret's safe with me."

"Thank you, Vin. Thank you so much" Spike said and Vincenzo smiled and nodded at him before starting the dishwasher and leaving the kitchen. Spike closed his eyes for a moment, once again breathing a sigh of relief before going back into the living room to join Buffy on the couch.

"What took so long?" Buffy asked as Spike handed her the Diet Coke and sat next to her on the couch.

"Vinny and I had a talk" Spike said, opening his soda and taking a sip. Buffy opened hers too.

"About?" she asked, taking a sip of her own soda.

"You and I being together" Spike told her, which made her choke on the drink she just deposited into her mouth. Spike put his soda on the coffee table and patted her on the back. "You okay, luv?"

"Are you… What did he say? Oh my god, is he gonna tell your dad. We're totally fu—"

"Calm down, luv, we're fine" Spike assured her as she placed her soda next to his on the coffee table. "Vin said he'd keep our secret. He thinks we're good together and he promised not to tell Pop."

"Seriously?" Buffy asked and Spike nodded. "Wow, that's… Does that mean we can be coupley at home as long as Giles isn't here?"

"Guess so" he said, putting his arm around her and pulling her over to him, kissing her lips softly. She smiled at him, kissing him again, this time more passionately, sliding her tongue into his mouth to meet his. They sat there making out for a minute or so before Buffy finally broke the kiss so she could breathe. She snuggled into him, making herself comfortable and he wrapped his arms tightly around her, kissing the top of her head.

"This is great" Buffy smiled. "I hated not being able to cuddle on you or kiss you when I wanted." He smiled, stroking her long blonde hair lightly.

"I feel ya, Goldilocks."

They laid there for a long while, cuddled together watching tv. Buffy was happy that Vincenzo was being so cool about their relationship and promised to keep it a secret until they were ready to tell Giles. As she laid in Spike's arms, she gripped the pendant around her neck, thinking of her mother. Her feelings were conflicted; she felt so happy she found a guy who could really be 'the one' one day, but she was also very sad her mother wasn't there to meet her new boyfriend. She would never see her mother's face or hear her voice again and that fact sickened her. She cuddled into Spike even more, feeling she might cry. As they laid there silently watching the tv, she felt a single tear slide down her cheek.


	5. Friends O' Mine

Six weeks had passed since Vincenzo found out about Buffy and Spike and, as he promised, he had kept their secret. They were careful to only show their affection toward one another when Giles was out of the house. Things were working out very well for them. They were really happy together and, even though Buffy was still grieving, she was loving being with Spike.

Buffy's alarm went off at 8:15am and she slammed her fist down on it, groaning a bit until she realized what today was – her friends were coming to visit today. Spike had talked to his father and Giles agreed to fly them out for a week, thinking it would be good for Buffy to have something familiar for once. As she remembered they were coming, she quickly sat up and jumped out of bed, smiling and stretching. She flung open her blinds, closing her eyes at the sunlight hitting her face. After standing there for a couple moments, she left her room and went downstairs to see if Spike was awake and found him pouring a cup of coffee in the kitchen.

"Morning" she smiled and he smiled back when he saw her.

"Morning, luv."

"Has Giles left for work?" Buffy asked, coming closer.

"Yeah, about ten minutes ago, why?" Spike asked, putting the coffee pot back in the coffee maker.

"Cuz, I wanted to do this" she said, crashing her lips on to his in a fiery kiss. He responded right away, putting his arms around her waist to pull her closer. After a few moments, she broke the kiss and backed away a bit; he frowned at the loss of contact.

"Hey, I wasn't done yet" he told her with a small pout and she smiled at him.

"I'm sorry, but I have to get ready" she said.

"Oh, that's right, your mates are comin today, aren't they?" he asked and she nodded.

"Yep, I can't wait to see them" she told him, grinning furiously.

"So, who's all coming?"

"Just Will and Xander."

"And what time does their plane get in?" Spike asked, pouring some coffee for Buffy and then adding some creamer to his own, Buffy did the same to hers.

"Noon, so I have to get a move on. I gotta take a shower and get ready so I'll be back down in a while, okay?"

"Okay" he told her. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before leaving the kitchen, coffee cup in hand, and going back upstairs.

After Buffy took a shower, she went into her room to get dressed. After choosing her outfit, a pair of skinny jeans, a cream-colored sweater and her knee-high brown boots, she got dressed and blow-dried her hair, putting it in two French braids toward the back of her head. After putting on some makeup, she went back downstairs to refill her coffee cup and hang out with Spike until it was time to go to the airport to get her friends. By the time she was finished getting ready, an hour had passed and it was now almost 9:20am.

"Well, don't you look adorable" Spike told her as she came down the stairs and into the living room.

"Thank you" she smiled. "I'm just gonna get some more coffee and then I'll join you."

"Wait" he called and she turned back around. "I was thinkin we'd go out to breakfast before we go get your mates."

"Really? That'd be great" Buffy told him.

"Okay, give me a couple minutes to get dressed. I'll be back down in a bit" he told her, kissing her on the lips before going upstairs. Buffy put her coffee cup in the dishwasher and went back into the living room to wait for her boyfriend. After a few minutes, Spike came back downstairs dressed and ready to go.

"Wow" she said at the sight of him. "You look hot."

"Thanks, luv" he told her. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a long-sleeved, dark gray, collared shirt, with a black t-shirt underneath. He had just gotten his hair cut the day before and it was spiked all over his head. "Ready to go?"

"Yep" she smiled, coming up to him and interlocking her fingers with his. "I'm really excited for you to meet Will and Xander."

"Yeah? Well, me too, pet" he told her. "Are we gonna tell them about us? Have you told either of them yet?"

"Yeah, they know. Well, I told Willow and I'm sure she told Xander" Buffy told him.

"They gonna keep it cool?" Spike asked and Buffy raised an eyebrow at him.

"Keep it cool?" she asked with a smile and he smirked at her, rolling his eyes playfully.

"You know what I mean. Are they gonna keep a low profile around Pop?" Spike rephrased his question and Buffy nodded.

"Definitely" she told him. "I told Willow when I talked to her last night that they had to keep it quiet around Giles because he doesn't know yet."

"Good" he said, kissing her. "Let's push off, yeah?"

"Kay" she said, grabbing her purse off the end-table by the couch and followed him into the foyer so they could put on their coats. After Spike put on his duster, he helped Buffy with her coat and they left the house, got into his Desoto, and began to drive down the main road.

"Where to, baby?" he asked her.

"Bob Evans" she said. "I haven't eaten there in forever and they have amazing food, especially breakfast."

"Fine with me" he told her and headed toward the restaurant. It only took a few minutes to get there and Spike parked the car and they hurried inside, as it had began to snow on their way there.

"I hope Will and Xander's plane isn't gettin delayed or anything because of this stupid snow" Buffy said as they entered the restaurant.

"Should be okay, luv" Spike assured her. "It just started snowing and it's only flurries right now."

"I hope so" Buffy said.

A hostess came up and sat them, gave them menus and took their drink orders, then gave them a few minutes to order their food.

"What are you having, baby?" Spike asked as they looked at the menu.

"Hmm…" Buffy thought as she looked over everything. "I don't know. I'm starving, but don't know what I want."

"I know what I'm starving for" Spike hinted with a smirk.

"What?" she asked, looking up at him and then realized what he was hinting and her face turned red. "You're bad" she smiled at him.

"Always" he said, still smirking. "But seriously, I think I'm gonna have an omelet and some shredded hash browns."

"I think I want pancakes and bacon" Buffy told him.

The waitress took their order and shortly after brought them their food and they sat and ate, talking about what Buffy and her friends were gonna do while they were there. After about an hour, they were done eating.

"So, what are we gonna do while we wait for the plane to get in?" Buffy asked. "We still have an hour and 40 minutes."

"We can sit in my car and make out for a while" Spike smirked and Buffy smiled at him.

"Sounds perfect" she told him and he paid the bill and took her hand to lead her outside. They got into the car and Spike drove them to what they now referred to as their spot—the place Spike had taken her when she first moved in. Since it was cold, they didn't get out of the car. Instead, Spike parked a little closer so they could still see the view, but could be warm while they had their make out session.

"You're so beautiful" Spike told her, kissing her passionately. "I love everything about you. I love your cheeks" he said, kissing her cheek. "I love your ears" he said, kissing and lightly sucking just below her left earlobe. Buffy closed her eyes, gasping slightly in pleasure. "I love your neck" he said, moving to her neck and kissing and lightly sucking there as well.

"Oh, god" Buffy whispered as her nails dug into the leather of Spike's duster. She was squeezing his upper arm, getting more and more turned on as he continued.

"And I love your lips" he told her, moving back to her lips and kissing her fervently, sliding his tongue into her mouth to rub against her. She moaned into his mouth, her arms going around his neck to pull him closer. "You're amazing, Buffy. I feel so lucky to be able to call you my girl." He looked her in the eyes and they smiled sweetly at each other.

"I feel lucky to be able to call myself your girl too" she told him. "I never thought I'd ever find anyone like you, Spike. I never thought I'd find someone who really, truly cared about me. I know you do."

"I really do, luv" he told her and she kissed him again, this time more tenderly.

"I know" she said. "Can… can you just hold me for a while? I just wanna lay in your arms until we have to go to the airport. Is that okay?"

"Always" he told her. "Come here, baby" he pulled her into him, wrapping his arms protectively around her as she snuggled into him. He wanted so desperately to tell her he loved her in that moment, but he was afraid she wasn't ready for that, so he refrained—at least for a little longer.

Spike and Buffy laid there, cuddle together, until it was time to go to the airport to pick up Buffy's friends. At 11:45am, Spike drove them to the airport, parked the car and they proceeded inside to wait for Willow and Xander's plane.

"What time is it?" Buffy asked as they stood in the airport, her cuddled on Spike and his arm around her.

"Uh...12:02pm" Spike said as he looked at his watch. Buffy sighed with anticipation. "You okay, baby?"

"Yeah" she told him. "Just anxious to see them. It's been a month and a half. I miss them both so much."

"This Xander bloke doesn't have a crush on you, does he?" Spike asked.

"Not anymore. He used to, when we first me, but he got over it" Buffy said, then looked up at Spike when she heard him exhale heavily. "Aww, are you jealous, baby?"

"Should I be?" he asked and she smiled sweetly at him, cupping his face with her hands.

"Absolutely not" she told him. "I'm your girl and I'm gonna stay that way. Xander and I are just friends and that's all we've ever been. He doesn't feel that way about me anymore, okay? I promise."

"I trust you, luv. Don't worry, I'll be good" he promised.

"And be nice" she told him and he nodded, holding his crossed fingers up.

"Scout's honor."

"Good" she smiled, kissing his lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. Just as his tongue entered her mouth, they heard the high pitched squeal of a teenaged girl and Buffy broke the kiss and turned around, squealing as well. She let go of Spike running over to two people—a redheaded girl and a dark-haired guy—and hugged them both tightly.

"Oh my god, Buffy! I missed you so much!" the redhead told her happily.

"Yeah, it isn't the same in Sunnydale without you, Buff" the guy said as he hugged Buffy. Spike stood back a bit, just waiting for their initial introductions to be over, not wanting to be in the middle of it.

"I've missed you guys so much, too!" Buffy exclaimed. "Come on." She took both of their hands and led them over to where Spike was standing awkwardly with his hands in the pockets of his duster. "Spike, these are my best friends EVER!" Buffy said happily. "This is Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris. Guys, this is William Giles, a.k.a. Spike."

"I've heard a lot about you, Spike" Willow smiled and then leaned over to Buffy, whispering, "he really is a hottie."

"Told you" Buffy whispered back.

"Nice to meet you both" Spike told them, shaking their hands.

"You've been taking care of our Buff?" Xander asked and Spike and Buffy glanced at each other, smirking a bit as Buffy's face turned a little red.

"Of course" Spike said. "Well, let's get your baggage and then get out of this soddin place, aye?"

"Definitely" Willow said, hooking her arm with Buffy's as they walked to baggage claim. After Willow and Xander got their bags, they all left the airport, packed the bags into Spike's trunk and then piled into Spike's car, Buffy sitting up front.

Once they got back to Spike and Buffy's place, Spike pulled into the long driveway, parked the car and they all got out. Willow looked in awe at the huge house, her jaw dropping.

"Wow" she breathed, looking around. "Your house is amazing!"

"Isn't it?" Buffy asked.

"It's crazy huge" Xander said. "This whole house belongs to you guys?"

"Well, it's my Pop's, but yeah" Spike said. "Here, red, let me take those for you" he told Willow, taking her bags.

"Thank you" Willow smiled. Buffy again hooked arms with Willow and they skipped ahead, hurrying up the porch steps and into the house. Spike was left behind with Xander, both of them not knowing what to say to each other.

"Jeez Louise!" Willow said as they entered the house. Buffy took her coat off and hung it on the coatrack and then took Willow's for her and hung it up as well. "This place is amazing!"

"I know, right?" Buffy smiled.

"Holy crap!" Xander said as he and Spike made their way inside as well. After Spike and Xander had also taken their coats off, they put the bags down momentarily so Buffy could show her friends around.

"Let me show you guys where you're gonna be sleeping" Buffy said after she had given them a tour of the house. Spike helped them take their bags upstairs as everyone followed Buffy up. "Will, you're gonna be bunking with me and Xander, you're gonna be crashing in the spare room, okay?"

"Cool with me" Xander said. "Uh…where's that exactly?"

"This way" Buffy said, leading Xander and Willow down the left hall toward Spike's room. She stopped at the door two doors down from Spike's room and opened it up, entering the room followed by Xander and Willow. "Okay, Xand, this is gonna be your room for the week."

"Fine with me" Xander said, looking around at the large room. There was a queen-sized bed with four pillows, a tv on the wall across from the bed and enough space to put his clothes.

"Okay, get settled and I'm gonna show Will my room" Buffy said and left the room with Willow in two. She traveled down the long hall way to the other side of the house to where her room was and opened the door, letting Willow in before her. "Okay, this is my room."

"It's huge!" Willow exclaimed as Spike set her bags on the floor.

"I know, I love it" Buffy smiled.

"Okay, luv. I have a couple things to do so I'm gonna head out for a while. I'll be back in about an hour or so" Spike told her.

"Okay" Buffy said and he kissed her on the lips.

"Be good" he joked and she smirked at him.

"Never" she joked back and he kissed her again before smiling at Willow and leaving Buffy's room, shutting the door behind him. Once she was sure he was out of ear range, Willow turned to Buffy and smiled.

"Wow, when you said he was hot, I didn't get just _how_ hot he was!"

"I know" Buffy smiled as the two girls sat on Buffy's bed.

"Is he a good kisser?" Willow asked and Buffy smiled, but couldn't help blushing.

"Incredible" she breathed and Willow squealed a bit.

"I'm so happy for you, Buff. He seems like a great guy and you seem to really like him" Willow said.

"Yeah, I really, really do" Buffy said.

"You love him, don't you?" Willow asked after seeing the look on Buffy's face when she talked about him.

"What? No, I… Okay, maybe I do" Buffy admitted and Willow beamed a grin.

"Holy cow!" she exclaimed. "Why don't you tell him?"

"What? No way!" Buffy said.

"And why not?"

"Because, Will, I don't know if he feels the same way and I don't wanna ruin our relationship by blurting the 'L' word too early" Buffy said. They heard a knock on the door and Buffy shushed Willow, knowing it was Xander and not wanting him to know what they were talking about. "Come in" she said and the door opened and Xander entered.

"Where'd the peroxide guy go?" Xander asked sarcastically and Buffy glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Xander" she warned. "I'm gonna tell you this right now, be nice. Spike's been amazing to me and this is his house. Besides, he's the reason you guys are even here. He got his dad to pay for your tickets so I expect you to be respectful and courteous, understand?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I was just kiddin, Buff" Xander said. "He does seem like a good guy and he seems to really care about you so, he's okay in my book."

"Thank you" Buffy said and got off the bed. "So, you all settled in your room, Xand?"

"Yep, all squared away" Xander told her. "Will, you haven't put anything away?"

"We got busy talking" Willow admitted.

"About?" Xander asked.

"Just girl talk" Buffy chimed in before Willow could answer. "We'll get your stuff put away later, Will, don't worry. What do you guys wanna do?"

"We can just go talk in the living room and catch up" Willow suggested.

"Okay, sounds good" Buffy agreed as the three friends headed downstairs, Buffy shutting her bedroom door like always. "You guys hungry?"

"Starving" Xander said.

"What about you, Wills?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, starving too" Willow said and Buffy nodded.

"Okay, follow me into the kitchen then" Buffy said and they followed her into the kitchen where they were met by Vincenzo. "Oh, hey, Vinny. These are my friends, Willow and Xander. Guys, this is Vincenzo, our amazing butler."

"Oh, you're too kind, Miss Elizabeth" Vincenzo said with a smile. "Nice to meet you both."

"You too" Willow and Xander said in unison.

"I was just gonna make something to eat. Will and Xander are hungry after such a long plane ride" Buffy said. The cook had been fired the week before for stealing silver from the kitchen. Since then, Vincenzo had been doing the cooking.

Oh, allow me to make you all something to eat" Vincenzo said.

"No, Vinny, it's okay. I can handle it. I'm sure you have other things you have to do around the house, you don't have to be bothered with making us a snack" Buffy told him.

"Okay. Well, if you need anything you know where to find me" Vincenzo told her with a smile and left the kitchen.

"So, what are you guys in the mood for?" Buffy asked, opening the refrigerator. Willow and Xander joined her at the fridge and looked at what they had. After looking for a moment, Buffy opened the freezer to see what was in there.

"Fries?" Willow suggested.

"Ooh, I can make some chilly-cheese fries" Buffy said.

"Definitely" Xander agreed.

"Sounds great" Willow agreed as well.

"Cool, coming right up" Buffy said, taking the fries out of the freezer. "Well, not _right_ up, they have to cook for a while." Buffy put some fries on a cookie sheet and, after the oven was heated, put them in and pressed '20 minutes' on the timer. "Let's go in the living room and talk while we wait." Xander and Willow followed Buffy into the living room and they sat on the sofa together.

"So, how have you been, Buff? With… everything?" Xander asked. Buffy sighed, knowing what he meant.

"You can say it, Xander. You mean ever since my mom died" Buffy told him; Xander and Willow just glanced at each other, not really knowing what to say. "I'm okay" Buffy continued. "I mean, of course I'm still horribly sad about it, I still cry… but only ever other night now instead of every night."

"Oh, Buffy" Willow said sympathetically, putting a comforting hand on her arm.

"Spike has helped a lot" Buffy went on. "He's been… amazing. He lost his mom six years ago when he was fourteen, so he knows what I'm going through. It's help a lot, being able to talk to him about how I'm feeling and everything. He lets me cry and he just holds me."

"That's sweet" Willow smiled.

"Yeah, he's a great boyfriend" Buffy said.

"So, he's actually your boyfriend then? You two aren't just making out or whatever?" Xander asked.

"Yes, Xander, he's my boyfriend" Buffy rolled her eyes at her friend. "And he's the best boyfriend I've ever had."

"Well, that's good" Willow said. "You deserve to be happy."

"Well, I'm not exactly happy. I mean, I'm happy with Spike, but I'm still really depressed about my mom. If I didn't have Spike though… I don't know how I'd be doing. I'd probably be locked in a mental hospital or something." She chuckled, but she was serious. She was beyond grateful to Spike for everything he'd done for her over the past month and a half.

"You two aren't sleepin together, are you?" Xander asked and Buffy's eyes widened while Willow glared at him.

"Xander!" Willow and Buffy scolded at the same time.

"No, Xander, we're not. Not that it's any of your business" Buffy said, her face blushing. "He's very patient about that. He's told me that he'll wait as long as I need."

"Hey, I'm just making sure this guy's good enough for you, that's all" Xander said defensively. "You're like my little sister; I worry about you."

"And I appreciate that" Buffy told him. "But some things are private."

"Okay, okay, I got it" Xander said, raising both his hands in surrender.

"So" Willow said, changing the subject. "How has it been living here with Spike and Mr. Giles?"

"It's been good" Buffy said. "Giles is really nice and he's been very accommodating to me. He's told me many times that if I need anything just to ask and he'll make sure I get it."

"I can't believe you have a butler. This Giles dude must be majorly rich" Xander said.

"He's pretty well-off" Buffy told him. "Vincenzo has been their butler since before Spike was born."

"So, no one knows about you and Spike?" Willow asked.

"Well, Vinny does" Buffy told her. "He found out shortly after we started dating, but he promised not to tell Giles. He's gonna let us tell him when we're ready."

"That's good" Willow said and Buffy nodded.

"Yeah, I freaked out when Spike told me Vincenzo knew, but then he told me what Vin said and how he promised to keep it a secret so it turned out okay. It's actually good because, now, we can be coupley when Giles isn't here; Vinny doesn't mind us cuddling and making out – as long as we don't make out in front of him" Buffy chuckled at the last part.

"I think you and Spike make the cutest couple" Willow said and Buffy smiled at her friend.

"Thanks, so do I" she said. "So, how are you and Oz, Will?"

"We're not together anymore" Willow said, but sounded a lot less sad than Buffy thought she should.

"Aww, why? What happened?" Buffy asked.

"We just grew apart after you left, I guess" Willow said. "He left town right after we broke up and we haven't spoken since."

"I'm sorry, Will."

"It's okay" Willow told her. "I was upset at first, but I think I'm pretty much over it."

"You seem a lot better than I thought you'd be" Buffy said. "Is there someone else or something?"

"No… but I did make a new friend" Willow told her.

"Replacing me already?" Buffy joked and Willow shook her head.

"No, of course not. I would never do that" Willow protested.

"Relax, Will. I was making with the funny" Buffy told her and Willow smiled. "So, what's this friend's name?"

"Her name's Tara" Willow told her. "She's new at Sunnydale High and she's in my physics class. She's really quiet, but a really nice girl. We got partnered up for a project and that's how we became friends. We haven't known each other very long, but she's cool, I think we could be good friends."

"Well, that's great, Will. I'm glad you have another gal-pal there now that I'm gone" Buffy told her, then turned her attention to her other friend. "What about you, Xand? Dating anyone or anything?"

"As a matter of fact, yet" Xander smiled. "This girl named Anya and I have been spending a lot of time together lately and we recently decided to date each other. Okay, 'date each other' sounds lame, you know what I mean."

"Yes, I do" Buffy smiled at him. "What's her story?"

"She's nice, and really hot, so that's a plus" Xander said and Buffy rolled her eyes playfully at Xander.

"Is that all guys care about? Whether a girl's hot or not?" Buffy asked.

"Some of us, but not all" Spike said as he came into the living room and Buffy smiled at the sight of her boyfriend.

"Is that a fact?" Buffy asked, standing up and going over to him and he kissed her.

"Yep" Spike told her.

"And which one are you? The one who cares or doesn't care?" Willow asked. Spike smirked and looked at Buffy, then back at Willow.

"Well, I personally think it isn't the most important thing. But, lucky for me, my girl's hot, funny and intelligent" Spike told the redhead, putting his arms around Buffy and Buffy smiled.

"Awww, that's so sweet" Willow gushed and Xander rolled his eyes, but did it so no one saw him. Buffy kissed Spike again as the over timer beeped.

"Ooh, that's the fries" she said, going into the kitchen, followed by Spike, Willow and Xander.

"Thank god, I'm starving!" Xander said as he sat at the island. Buffy put on an oven mitt and took the fries out of the oven, placing them on top of the stove. After doing that, she got a can of chili out of the cupboard, opened it with a can opener and placed the contents in a bowl and put it in the microwave to warm it up. She pushed one minute on the microwave and turned toward her friends and Spike.

"Hungry, baby?" she asked him and he shrugged.

"A little I guess. I'll get the plates" he said.

"Thanks" she told him as he went to another cupboard and got out four plates and put them on the island. After the microwave beeped, Buffy took the bowl of chili out and set it on the counter next to the stove and retrieved a bag of shredded cheese out of the fridge. "Okay, lunch is served."

"Yay" Willow said and she and Xander took two of the plates and got their fires, putting chili and cheese on them. Once they got theirs, Buffy and Spike got their own and Buffy put hers in the microwave to melt the cheese and then joined everyone at the island to eat.

"I'm so glad you guys are gonna be here for a whole week!" Buffy said once they were all settled in the living room.

"Us too, Buff" Xander said.

"Yeah, we've really missed you" Willow added.

"This should definitely be an interesting week" Buffy smiled as Spike flipped on the tv with the remote and began flipping through the channels to find something to watch.


	6. I Love You

The next morning, Buffy woke around 6:45am and, with Willow still sound asleep, she carefully got out of bed and left her room, shutting the door quietly behind her. She peaked out of one of the upstairs windows and saw that Giles' car was gone, which meant he had already left for work, and she smiled. She tiptoed down the hallway, passed Xander's room to Spike's at the end of the hall. She opened the door quietly and poked her head in; Spike was still asleep. She smiled again at the sight of her boyfriend and entered his room quietly, shutting the door and going over to his bed. Carefully pulling back the comforter a bit, she climbed into bed with him, snuggling against him. As she did so, he stirred and woke, smiling at the sight of the blonde in his bed.

"Well, this is a nice way to wake up" he told her quietly, glancing over at the clock on his nightstand. "But what if Pop catches—"

"He already left, I checked" Buffy told him and he smiled, wrapping his arms around her as she snuggled into him more.

"Good then" he said, kissing her forehead. "You okay, baby?"

"Yeah" Buffy told him with a yawn. "I just missed you."

"I missed you too" he told her, kissing her on the head again. "I, uh…I want to…"

"What?" she asked, looking up at him.

"I've been meaning to, umm…"

"Baby, what is it? You're scaring me."

"No, it's just… I love you, Buffy" he told her and she smiled brightly at him.

"You do?" she asked and he nodded.

"So bloody much. I hope it isn't too soon for you. If you don't wanna say it back… we don't have to make a big thing out of it. I just… I had to tell you, because—" She cut him off, putting her finger to his lips.

"Shhh" she told him, running her index finger over his lips, then gently grabbing a hold of his chin with her thumb and index finger and pulled him into a passionate kiss. "I love you too, Spike. You're…god, you're everything to me." she told him once the kiss was broken. He smiled back at her, kissing her lips again and holding her tighter.

"I'm so happy to hear you say that" he told her. "I was afraid to say it because… with everything you've been through, I didn't want to put you in an awkward position or lose you for saying it too soon."

"I've been wanting to tell you too… but I didn't want it to be awkward either… if you didn't feel the same way" she said. They heard a door open and close, footsteps, and then another door close and looked at each other. "That would be one of your mates. Sounded like it came from your room so red's probably awake."

"I guess we should get outta bed" Buffy said, but didn't move.

"Might have to get up for that, luv" he told her and she chuckled, kissing him before getting out of bed. She stretched and yawned again.

"I'm gonna go first and then you can follow, okay?"

"Sure thing, pet" Spike told her, giving her a tender, soft, but long kiss before she left his bedroom. Willow, who had just come out of the bathroom, saw Buffy emerge from Spike's room and smirked at her.

"Good morning" Willow said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I wondered where you were, now I know."

"I woke up a little bit ago and wanted to go lay with Spike" Buffy said.

"So, you're saying nothing happened in there?" Willow asked.

"Nothing happened" Buffy told her. "We were laying together and he just held me." As the girls began to walk downstairs, Spike came out of his room as well, following them down.

"Mornin, red" he said to Willow, who smiled back at him.

"Good morning."

"You girls want coffee?" he asked, going into the kitchen, followed by Buffy and Willow.

"Yes, please" Buffy said.

"No coffee for me, makes me too jittery" Willow said, opening the fridge and retrieving a jug of orange juice. After Spike started the coffee maker, he came up behind Buffy, putting his arms around her waist and kissing her neck and cheek.

"I love you, baby" he whispered, but loud enough that Willow still heard and her eyes widened.

"I love you, too" Buffy said back. Willow's mouth dropped and a smile came across her face. "What?" Buffy asked when she noticed Willow's grin.

"You two… with the I love you's. That's new, right?"

"Yeah" Buffy smiled at her friend as she wrapped her arms over Spike's and he rested his chin on her shoulder. "We just said it for the first time earlier this morning."

"Awww!" Willow gushed. "I'm so happy for you two!"

"Thanks, red" Spike said, spinning Buffy around so he could kiss her lips. "Okay, while the coffee's getting made I'm gonna go get dressed."

"Kay" she told him and he kissed her once more before leaving the kitchen.

"Wow" Willow said once Spike was gone.

"I know, I'm so happy. He's… I just love him so much."

"I know" Willow said. "And I can tell he really loves you too"

"Yeah, I know he does" Buffy smiled.

"You have a pretty good boyfriend there."

"I know" Buffy said, continuing to smile. "He's… I wouldn't have survived this without him. He's been there from the start and… I just don't know what I'd do if I didn't have him."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that. I'm sure he's not going anywhere" Willow said.

"Well, it's kinda his house, Will" Buffy joked.

"You know what I mean" Willow told her and she nodded.

"Yeah, I do" Buffy said as Xander came down the stairs and into the kitchen, sleepy-eyed.

"What are you girls talkin about?" he asked, only catching the very end of the conversation.

"Oh, nothing, just some girl talk" Buffy said.

"Spike and Buffy declared their love for each other this morning" Willow smiled.

"Really? Wow" Xander said, sitting at the island.

"What?" Buffy asked. The coffee maker had beeped and Buffy took two mugs out of the cupboard and poured coffee for her and Spike.

"It just seems kinda fast, don't you think?" Xander asked, which received a glare from Willow. "I just mean, you've only been dating for a little over a month…"

"A month and a half" Buffy said defensively. "It doesn't matter how long we've been dating, Xander. You can't help when or who you fall in love with."

"I'm just trying to look out for you, Buff, that's all" Xander told her.

"And I appreciate that" Buffy told him. "But, I do love Spike."

"And I love her with all my heart" Spike said as he came back into the kitchen, now dressed. He came up to her, wrapping his arms around her and she cuddled on him, smiling. "What are we talking about? Besides how incredible and sexy I am and how much you love me?" Xander rolled his eyes, his back turned to the others so they didn't see it.

"Nothing, just that" Buffy smiled and kissed him before letting him go and giving him the coffee she had poured for him.

"Thanks, baby" he told her, putting some creamer in it and taking a sip. As Buffy put creamer in her own coffee, she felt her stomach growling.

"I'm starving, who wants breakfast?"

"Me" Willow said.

"Me too" Xander said.

"I was thinking we could go out to breakfast" Spike said. "It's your first full day here in Birmingham, thought we could go out and show you guys the town." Buffy smiled at her boyfriend.

"That sounds fun" Willow smiled. "What do you say, Xander?"

"Sounds like a plan" Xander agreed.

"Okay, come on, Will, let's go get dressed and then we can go" Buffy said, kissing Spike on the lips before taking Willow's hand and going upstairs. Xander and Spike stood there awkwardly for a few moments before Xander cleared his throat.

"Uh, I'm gonna go get dressed too, I guess." With that, he left the kitchen and went upstairs himself.

A half an hour later, Buffy, Willow and Xander were all dressed and back downstairs. After everyone had their coats and shoes on, they piled into Spike's car and were off.

"Where are we gonna eat?" Buffy asked as she fiddled with the radio. Spike rolled his eyes at his girlfriend.

"Bloody hell, Goldilocks, will ya leave a bloke's radio alone?" he asked playfully and turned it back to his favorite station. Buffy rolled her eyes back at Spike.

"Well, if you'd listen to music that didn't make me wanna bang my head against the window, I would" she told him. He smirked at her, taking her hand and kissing it.

"You're lucky I love you so much" he told her and she smiled at him.

"Yes I am" she told him and he smiled back at her, interlocking his fingers with hers and continuing to hold her hand while he drove.

"So…breakfast?" Xander said from where he and Willow sat in the back, trying to change the subject.

"Right" Spike said. "Doesn't really matter to me. Where do you wanna go, luv?" he asked Buffy.

"Bob Evans" she smiled.

"How did I know you were gonna pick that?" Spike smirked, shaking his head. "Okay, Bob Evans it is."

"Is that cool with you guys?" Buffy asked Willow and Xander.

"Sure" Willow said.

"Yeah, that works" Xander agreed as Spike pulled into the parking lot. After shutting off the engine, everyone got out of the car and hurried inside, as it was really cold.

"God, I'm freezing!" Buffy said, rubbing her hands together.

"Well, if you'd wear a coat that actually kept you warm you wouldn't be" Spike told her.

"It didn't go with my outfit" Buffy pouted defensively. Spike shook his head at her with a smirk.

"Come here, baby" he said, pulling her over to him and wrapping his arms around her to warm her up; she snuggled into him with a smile. "Better?"

"Much" she told him.

"Yeah, this weather blows" Xander said, again trying to change the subject.

"It's definitely a change from southern California" Willow added as the hostess came up to them.

"How many?" she asked.

"Four" Spike said, letting Buffy go, but taking her hand.

"Okay, follow me" the hostess said, grabbing four menus and leading them to a back table. She set the menus down and Buffy, Spike, Willow and Xander took their seats at the table. "A waitress will be right with you" the hostess smiled and walked away. Everyone opened their menus to decide what they wanted to eat.

"What are you gonna have, luv?" Spike asked Buffy, looking at the menu to decide on his own meal.

"Hmm…" Buffy thought, looking over everything. "Not sure yet."

"I want an omelet" Willow said, looking over the omelet choices.

"That sounds good, Will. I think that's what I'm gonna have too" Xander said.

"What about you, baby?" Buffy asked Spike.

"I think I'm gonna have biscuits and gravy, some bacon and shredded hash browns" Spike told her as a waitress came up to them.

"Good morning. I'm Taylor, I'll be your waitress today. Can I start you off with drinks?" she asked.

"I'll have some orange juice, please" Willow said. Taylor nodded, wrote it down and looked at Xander.

"Milk, please" Xander told her. She wrote it down and looked at Buffy and Spike seated across from Willow and Xander.

"Coffee and raspberry iced tea, please" Buffy told her and she wrote it down as well.

"Uh, some coffee and orange juice, please" Spike told her. She nodded and wrote it down with the other things.

"Have you decided on your meal or do you need a couple more minutes?" Taylor asked.

"Have you decided, baby?" Spike asked Buffy.

"Yeah, I'll have three pancakes, some bacon and wheat toast" Buffy told her and she wrote it down.

"And I'll have biscuits and gravy, some bacon and shredded hash browns" Spike told her and she nodded, writing it down.

"And for you two?" Taylor asked Willow and Xander.

"Can I have a sausage, pepper and mushroom omelet with pepper jack cheese, please?" Xander asked and Taylor nodded as she wrote it down.

"And I'll have an omelet also, with ham, onions, mushrooms and cheddar cheese, please" Willow said. After writing it down she smiled.

"Okay, I'll bring your food shortly" she said and walked away.

An hour later, everyone was done eating and Spike insisted on paying the bill. After the bill was paid, they were back in Spike's car, driving around deciding on what to do.

"So, where are we going?" Willow asked from the back seat.

"We wanna show you somewhere" Buffy told her. "It's my favorite place now. Spike took me there when I first moved in, it's amazing."

"Okay, cool" Willow said.

Once they got to Spike and Buffy's spot, Spike parked the car not too far from the cliff so they didn't have to walk too far, being that it was only 30 degrees outside. Everyone got out and walked over to the cliff.

"Wow!" Willow exclaimed at the view.

"Isn't it amazing?" Buffy asked.

"It's pretty awesome" Xander agreed. Spike looked over to Buffy and saw her shiver.

"Come here, baby" he told her, pulling her over to him and wrapping his arms around her. She snuggled into him, shivering again.

"Do you guys come here a lot?" Willow asked, stepping a little closer to get a better look.

"Yeah, quite often" Spike told her. Xander looked over and saw Spike rubbing Buffy's back. He rolled his eyes as he saw Buffy look up lovingly at him and then saw him capture her lips in a fiery kiss. He looked over at Willow, who wasn't paying attention because she was entranced by the view. He looked back at Spike and Buffy who were still making out. Her hands had gone to his face and his were wrapped around her waist. Finally, Willow looked over at them and blushed a little, going over to Xander who was standing a few feet away.

"They're so cute together, aren't they?" Willow whispered to Xander.

"They need to get a room" Xander mumbled as the two blondes continued to go at it. Willow just rolled her eyes at Xander when he cleared his throat loudly, pulling Spike and Buffy out of their embrace.

"Oh, sorry, guys. I guess we got a little carried away" Buffy smiled after breaking the kiss.

"It's okay. I'm glad you two have each other. You're so cute together, you make the perfect couple" Willow told them with a smile.

"Thanks, red" Spike told her. He glanced over at Xander and saw him roll his eyes. He didn't say anything, but secretly wondered if Buffy was wrong about Xander not having feelings for her. All he knew was he'd be damned if he was going to let anyone or anything come in between him and his love. He didn't want to start an argument, but if Xander tried anything, or he sensed he was trying to get in between them, he would take care of it.

After staying only a few more minutes at the cliff, the group decided to call it quits for the moment and head home. The temperature was dropping and it was beginning to snow.

"Ugh, it's getting bad out there" Buffy said as they arrived home and hung up their coats and removed their shoes. They all went into the living room to make themselves comfortable. Willow sat on the loveseat, Xander took a seat in the recliner and Buffy and Spike cuddled together on the couch.

"Yeah, we're supposed to get 10 inches, I think" Spike told her.

"So, how are you guys liking Birmingham so far?" Buffy asked as she leaned against Spike on the couch. He put his arm around her waist protectively.

"It's awesome so far" Willow said. "Although, there's a couple places I want to visit before we go home."

"Of course, we'll make sure to hit everything on your list" Buffy promised. "And you're sure your parents don't mind you spending thanksgiving here with us?"

"Are you kidding? My parents were thrilled they'd be alone. They couldn't have agreed fast enough" Xander told her and Buffy smiled sympathetically at her friend.

"My mom said as long as I call every night she was fine with me going. She wasn't too happy I'd be good for thanksgiving, but she'll get over it" Willow said.

"Well, good, I'm so glad you guys are here" Buffy smiled and her friends smiled back at her. Spike switched on the tv and began flipping through the list of shows they had recorded on the DVR.

"I'm gonna go jump in the shower, I'm still freezing" Xander said. "That okay, Buff?"

"Of course, you don't have to ask" Buffy told him. He gave her a smile before getting up and heading upstairs.

"Well, I'm gonna go call my mom before I forget" Willow told her and Spike as she got up as well.

"Okay, Will" Buffy said.

"Be back down in a few." With that, Willow went upstairs as well. Once Willow was gone, Buffy turned to Spike and smiled.

"I just wanna thank you" she told him and he looked at her, surprised.

"For what, luv?"

"You've been so sweet and a great host" Buffy told him. "I mean, helping them with their bags, insisting on paying for breakfast, just being nice. I love you so much. Thank you for being so great to my friends." Spike smirked at her, brushing the hair out of her face.

"Don't mention it, baby" he said. "I love you, I'd do anything for you." She smiled, leaning over, and kissing his lips softly. As she went to pull away, he grabbed a hold of her waist, pulling her back into the kiss and kissing her more passionately. Her arms went around his neck as his tongue went into her mouth and she welcomed it with hers. A low moan escaped from his mouth as she breathed deeply into his mouth, not wanting to stop. Suddenly, he felt himself get hard and broke the kiss; Buffy frowned.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"No, it's just..." he hesitated. He didn't want to tell her he was hard and didn't want her to feel it either. "Uh.." Buffy moved her hand down to his lap to place a hand on his leg and felt the bulge in his pants. She blushed a bit as she quickly moved her hand away from his erection.

"Oh, u—uh…sorry" was all she could think of saying.

"Isn't your fault, pet. Well, it is, but not in a bad way" he told her and she smiled at him. "I'm sorry, I just can't help it sometimes when you touch me…"

"You don't have to apologize, baby, you turn me on too" she told him and he smirked at her.

"Do I now?"

"You know you do" she smiled at him. "It'd be bad if you didn't. Maybe… after Will and Xander leave, we could—"

"Hey, baby, I told you, I'll wait as long as you need. Yes, I want you, so badly, but good things come to those who wait, and you are definitely worth waiting for" Spike told her and she smiled at him, feeling teary-eyed.

"I want you too" she told him. "It just… has to be the right time, y'know?"

"Like when your mates aren't down the hall?" Spike asked with a chuckle.

"Like that, yes" Buffy chuckled also. Spike kissed her on the forehead, leaning back on the couch and pulling her against him.

"Well, then we'll wait" he told her, picking a show and pressing play. Buffy interlocked her fingers with Spikes and wrapped his arms around her tightly, snuggling herself into him.

"I love you" she said.

"And I love you, my little Goldilocks" he told her.


End file.
